Alger Hiss's Looking-Glass Wars

The Covert Life of a Soviet Spy

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Legal History, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century, Biography & Memoir, Political
Cover of the book Alger Hiss's Looking-Glass Wars by G. Edward White, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: G. Edward White ISBN: 9780190288419
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: March 11, 2004
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: G. Edward White
ISBN: 9780190288419
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: March 11, 2004
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

For decades, a great number of Americans saw Alger Hiss as an innocent victim of McCarthyism--a distinguished diplomat railroaded by an ambitious Richard Nixon. And even as the case against Hiss grew over time, his dignified demeanor helped create an aura of innocence that outshone the facts in many minds. Now G. Edward White deftly draws together the countless details of Hiss's life--from his upper middle-class childhood in Baltimore and his brilliant success at Harvard to his later career as a self-made martyr to McCarthyism--to paint a fascinating portrait of a man whose life was devoted to perpetuating a lie. White catalogs the evidence that proved Hiss's guilt, from Whittaker Chambers's famous testimony, to copies of State Department documents typed on Hiss's typewriter, to Allen Weinstein's groundbreaking investigation in the 1970s. The author then explores the central conundrums of Hiss's life: Why did this talented lawyer become a Communist and a Soviet spy? Why did he devote so much of his life to an extensive public campaign to deny his espionage? And how, without producing any new evidence, did he convince many people that he was innocent? White offers a compelling analysis of Hiss's behavior in the face of growing evidence of his guilt, revealing how this behavior fit into an ongoing pattern of denial and duplicity in his life. The story of Alger Hiss is in part a reflection of Cold War America--a time of ideological passions, partisan battles, and secret lives. It is also a story that transcends a particular historical era--a story about individuals who choose to engage in espionage for foreign powers and the secret worlds they choose to conceal. In White's skilled hands, the life of Alger Hiss comes to illuminate both of those themes.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

For decades, a great number of Americans saw Alger Hiss as an innocent victim of McCarthyism--a distinguished diplomat railroaded by an ambitious Richard Nixon. And even as the case against Hiss grew over time, his dignified demeanor helped create an aura of innocence that outshone the facts in many minds. Now G. Edward White deftly draws together the countless details of Hiss's life--from his upper middle-class childhood in Baltimore and his brilliant success at Harvard to his later career as a self-made martyr to McCarthyism--to paint a fascinating portrait of a man whose life was devoted to perpetuating a lie. White catalogs the evidence that proved Hiss's guilt, from Whittaker Chambers's famous testimony, to copies of State Department documents typed on Hiss's typewriter, to Allen Weinstein's groundbreaking investigation in the 1970s. The author then explores the central conundrums of Hiss's life: Why did this talented lawyer become a Communist and a Soviet spy? Why did he devote so much of his life to an extensive public campaign to deny his espionage? And how, without producing any new evidence, did he convince many people that he was innocent? White offers a compelling analysis of Hiss's behavior in the face of growing evidence of his guilt, revealing how this behavior fit into an ongoing pattern of denial and duplicity in his life. The story of Alger Hiss is in part a reflection of Cold War America--a time of ideological passions, partisan battles, and secret lives. It is also a story that transcends a particular historical era--a story about individuals who choose to engage in espionage for foreign powers and the secret worlds they choose to conceal. In White's skilled hands, the life of Alger Hiss comes to illuminate both of those themes.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book An Intelligent Career by G. Edward White
Cover of the book The House I Live In by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Tap Dancing America by G. Edward White
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Central Banking by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Lincoln's Sanctuary by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Ethics in Practice by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Marijuana Legalization by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Los contratos civiles by G. Edward White
Cover of the book The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Hume's Presence in The Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Chasing the American Dream by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Pyrite by G. Edward White
Cover of the book The Throne of Adulis: Red Sea Wars on the Eve of Islam by G. Edward White
Cover of the book Twentieth-Century America by G. Edward White
Cover of the book After the Wrath of God by G. Edward White
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy